Unforgettable France
Page 5: Reims / Epernay / Belleau Wood
Clay & Pat Stahl, Bill & Val Clark, Dick Demchak
05/27 Saturday Reims - Epernay - Paris
We boarded the bus for a circuitous ride to the Cathedral, named (what else) Notre Dame. It may not be as well known
as its namesake in Paris, but is said to be more beautiful, and many French kings chose it for their coronations. The
13th-century Cathedral is Gothic, of course, you could say even somewhat ugly on the outside because of the flying
buttresses, but beautiful on the inside. It was severely damaged in World War I and then restored, and is known for its
stunning facade, interior, and stained-glass windows, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is our third time
here and we never get tired of it!
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Reims Cathedral Notre-Dame
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We Went in Through This Door on the Right
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Looking Down the Center
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Flying Buttresses Make The Tall Inside Possible
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Left Side Nave
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Distinctive Rose Window
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Rear Marc Chagal-Designed Window
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Still in Reims -- Joan of Arc and a Couple of Well-Known Champagne Houses
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We went by the Vueve Cliquot Champagne house and were surprised to hear from Robert that Veuve means "widow"
in French and Madame Cliquot was said to be one of the first businesswomen of the modern era, taking over upon the
death of her husband and perfecting the riddling technique to get the spent yeast to the bottle's neck to be disgorged!
He also asked us why the bubbles always seem to come from the bottom of the glass, and it was because they form at
irregularities i.e. at the stem! I guess that is why beer bubbles come from the bottom sides of the beer glass also.
Our last tour day then took us to Epernay, the other champagne city, over the Montagne de Reims and through seas of
Pinot Noir vineyards, the red grape that must be pressed rapidly to give the white juice without a trace of color.
There are 18,500 proprietors of which 13% sell 67% of the champagne. Here there are not great vineyards as in Burgundy,
but it is the firms that have the cachet. There are 20,000 men who work the vineyards, and half of them own some vines.
The bus stopped for a view of the town of Hautvillers, and the abbey which is the final resting place of Dom Perignon,
but it was so far away that without a zoom lens, fugettaboutit!
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On The Right Track
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Montagne de Reims Pinot Noir Grapes
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Hautvillers, Dom Has Not Left The Abbey
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We arrived in Epernay, much smaller in area than Reims, but much bigger in champagne houses. Our tour and tasting is at
Castellane, pretty sizeable but none of us have heard of it. That is not too surprising as there are 110 champagne
houses in the region! After a wait in the reception room that was much longer than we needed to use the restroom,
we went downstairs to the usual presentation. They have nice caves with names on the walls as if they were streets. An
interesting comment was that the third and least used grape in champagne, pinot meuniere, is not used in vintage
champagnes as it makes the champagne taste older! After a visit to the disgorgement area, we went up
to the tasting room, if you can call a single half-filled glass a tasting! If we had enough time, we
could have bought a bottle to share there as they had plenty of room with comfy couches and nice tables.
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They Seem To Be a Good Size and Have Been
Here a While, But We Never Heard of Them
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Distinctive Tower,
Visible From All Over
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Not Much Floor Space, So
Very High Fermenting Tanks
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Six Liter, Eight Bottle (Party) Size
Not Ready For a While
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Castellane Tasting Room,
Pat & Doug Kriesel, Wayne & Jayne Lee
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One of the Many Vineyards Near Epernay
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Our Vineyard Guide(R) Spoke Only French,
So Our Castellane Guide(C) Translated
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We went down the Avenue de Champagne which Winston Churchill dubbed "The most drinkable avenue in the world,"
as it is home to an extraordinary number of champagne houses. The bus stopped at a circle where we had a little time to
get something for lunch. Again we are rushed, but we went in the second restaurant that we saw. Le Progress was right
on the Circle and had a large outdoor dining area, although it looked a little crowded. It turned out to be a great
choice and we both got crepes with a bottle of champagne. The service was prompt, so on the way back to the bus, we
went into the other restaurant for another glass of champagne. Hey, who knows when we will get here again?
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Limited Time For Lunch, But Great Service Here with Crepes and a Bottle of Champagne
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On the way back, Robert mentioned that the bus had moved up the street, so Pat looked around and Clay headed up
the street with Pat Kriesel. Passing our driver Aristide on a corner should have been a clue that the bus was
parked on that side street, but Clay and Pat just kept walking until there was no possibility of seeing the bus. Duh!
We both walked back to the bus on the side street, our spouses were there already not concerned at all as we were
far from the last ones on. It did give Clay a few more champagne photo-ops!
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No Translation Needed Here!
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Traffic Circle -- Grapevines?
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Who's Who & Exactly How Far Away!
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A Few of the Many Champagne Houses on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay
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Not far from Epernay, we pass through the town of Chatillon-sur-Marne, the birthplace of Urban II, Pope from 1088 to
1099, who is most known for starting the First Crusade. On to Chateau-Thierry, well actually six miles to the northwest
of the town, just south of the town of Belleau for the World War I Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial.
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He Lives On at Moet & Chandon
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It's a Town, Not a Castle!
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(French) Pope Urban Started the Crusades
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This cemetery, with headstones in an arc, is at the foot of Belleau Wood that gave its name to the battle. There
are graves of 2,289 Americans, most of whom fought there and in the Marne valley in the summer of 1918. There
is a memorial chapel with the names of 1,060 who gave their lives and who are resting in unknown graves. Because
an American-speaking (and military-looking) group had the stairs blocked while rehearsing a ceremony probably for
Memorial day, we were unable to enter the chapel.
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Belleau Wood Memorial Chapel & Graves With U.S. and French Flags By Every One
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Civilian?
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That's all the sightseeing. We head directly for Paris and the same hotel where we spent the first three nights.
This time we have a room on the central Paris side, but it doesn't make much difference as we only have time to
get ready for the bus to take us to the included dinner at Les Noches de Jeanette, the same restaurant that we
went to 5 years ago as part of a Dinner/Show tour. That is probably not as amazing as it first seems as some
restaurants vigorously cater to the tourist trade.
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Same Restaurant as in 2001!
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It Was Very Good Then, And Just as Good Now
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Robert, Our Tour Guide On the Right
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Everyone Seemed to Like It
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Guide Robert and Bus Driver Aristide
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The Service Was Great, They've Done This Before
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White & Red (Their Label) Wine Was Included
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Accordionist Played Le Marseillaise
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Wine Label Tiles in the Men's Room Only!
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Paris at Night: Eiffel Tower, Seine River, Obelisk of Luxor at Place de Concorde, Alexander III Bridge,
Building Flag, Hotel - Lutetia is Paris in Latin!
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Most Everyone Had One Last Drink In The Hotel Bar
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One last comment from Robert (our English guide): "The French have one religion and 246 cheeses." He made it
in his tone of dry English humor, but I'm not sure that there wasn't touch of admiration there!
